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The hopes of Newcastle fans that the club will turn the loan signing of Salomón Rondon into a permanent deal are set to be dashed.
That is because the Magpies’ chairman, Mike Ashley, thinks that he is too old to justify the £16.5 million option to buy that is the Venezuelan’s loan agreement.
Rondon, who turns 30 in September, is on a season long loan from Championship side West Bromwich Albion, and has made a big impression on Tyneside this campaign, leading the line and scoring nine goals, as well as providing five assists.
He has proved to be a big hit with the club’s supporters, but now it appears that Mike Ashley, who is already deeply unpopular with those self-same fans, is likely to close the door on the forward becoming a permanent Newcastle player.
Rondon meanwhile has been away on international duty with Venezuela, and continued his scoring form, netting the first goal in his country’s 3 – 1 friendly victory over Argentina on Friday.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.